Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is looking to the franchise’s past to help find a key part of their future.
According to Luke Straub of USA Today, former Raiders wide receiver Cliff Branch said he has accepted an invitation from Gruden to sit with him and General Manager Mike Mayock at the NFL Combine later this month to help evaluate receiving prospects in this year’s draft class.
“Jon Gruden wants to get back to that,” Branch said. “He invited me to come to the combine for the receiving skills day. We just finalized it the other day - got the plane ticket ready to go.
“He said ‘I want you to sit with me, Mike, and we’re going to watch the receiving skills. I’m [going to] put you to work.’ So I’m excited about it. We’ve got to find a talented, deep threat receiver for the Raiders.”
The Raiders arguably had one of those before trading Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys in October. Nevertheless, they don’t have him now and need help at receiver for Derek Carr.
Branch is among the best to ever do it in a Raiders uniform. Branch played 14 seasons for the Raiders and made the Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro teams four times each. He led the NFL in receiving in 1974, led the league in touchdowns in 1974 and 1976, and won three Super Bowls as a member of the Raiders. He caught 501 passes for 8,685 yards and 67 touchdowns during his career.